Abstract

This public lecture sought to interpret the life's work of Royden Rabinowitch. It consists mainly of simple, sculptural metal shapes, arranged on a floor or wall. Using the literature of Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Terry Eagleton and George Didi-Huberman (on Aby Warburg), as well as a visit to dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, I elaborate on the emotional, political, historical and philosophical meanings of Rabinowitch's works.The conclusion is that they are addressing the most important issues today and do so credibly and in a paradoxically hopeful way: in a similar vein to how Terry Eagleton describes the political allegiances and impact of Beckett's oeuvre. It is particularly in keeping with the writer's engaged politics and efficacious by not speaking directly about politics.